Connecticut Committee on Judicial Ethics
Informal Opinion Summaries
2008-26 (January 2, 2009)
Recommendations; Court Employees; Canons 2 & 3;
C.G.S. § 51-39
Issue:
May a Judicial Official provide a
recommendation to a court employee, about whom the
Judicial Official has personal knowledge, who is
seeking a position with the Judicial Branch in the
judicial district where the Judicial Official is
currently assigned?
Response:
Based upon the facts presented, including that the
employee does not currently work in the Judicial
Official’s judicial district, the court employee is
not a relative of the Judicial Official within the
meaning of Canon 3B or C.G.S. § 51-39a, and the
Judicial Official is not an administrative judge,
assistant administrative judge or presiding judge,
and for the reasons cited in Opinion 2008-1, the
Committee unanimously agreed that the Judicial
Official may provide a letter of recommendation
specific to the position being applied for. The
letter may be on Judicial Branch stationery or
personal stationery, on which the Judicial Official
identifies his or her title. The letter should
indicate that the recommendation represents the
personal opinion of the Judicial Official.
Committee on Judicial Ethics